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The Regions This Week
March 31, 2017 www.intellinews.com I Page 5
Southeast Europe The US senate approved a protocol on
Montenegro’s Nato accession. The vote paves the way for Montenegro to join the alliance this year as all Nato members except Spain have now endorsed the protocol.
A Turkish court halted operations of online travel agent Booking.com for allegedly violating Turkish competition rules. The local Information and Communication Authority is expected to block access to the Netherlands-based travel agent’s website.
Several MPs including former Prime Minister Alenka Bratusek cautioned against being too hasty in the privatisation of Slovenia’s largest lender NLB. An IPO of the bank is due to take place this year.
Former Romanian Tourism Minister Elena Udrea was sentenced to six years in prison for bribe-taking and abuse of office. The case relates to a boxing gala held in 2011, which the former minister is accused of funding with public money.
The Albanian parliament adopted seven laws on judicial reforms. The laws were passed without the any involvement of the opposition Democratic Party, which has boycotted the parliament since mid-February.
Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag claimed the arrest of a deputy CEO at Halkbank is a “completely political” move aimed at discrediting the government in Ankara. Shares in the bank nosedived after Mehmet Hakan Atilla was detained on suspicion of conspiring to help Iran evade sanctions.
A Sarajevo court released former Bosnian interior minister Alija Delimustafic after he was arrested in a large organised crime probe in 2016. Delimustafic previously fled the country after being temporarily released in December.
Three Chinese banks could finance a €300mn project to refinance the debt of Bulgaria’s ailing state-owned railways operator BDZ and fund procurement of new rolling stock. However, it
is not clear whether the centre-right GERB, which won the March 26 election, will continue the transport policies of the current caretaker government.
Four Kosovans suspected of plotting to blow
up the Rialto bridge in Venice were detained by Italian police. About 300 Kosovo Albanians have joined IS since 2011, which is the highest number in per-capita terms across Europe.
The number of foreign tourists visiting Montenegro is expected to increase by at least 20% this year. Advance bookings are already up despite a recommendation from Moscow that Russians avoid visiting the Adriatic country, which is expected to join Nato later this year.
Belgrade started the privatisation process for three Serbian state-owned chemical plants. The government hopes Russian investors will be interested in petrochemicals producer HIP- Petrohemija, mineral fertiliser producer HIP Azotara and Metanolsko-Sircetni Kompleks.
Turkey borrowed $1.25bn through a six-year, dollar-denominated sukuk at around 5%. This is Turkey’s fifth such issue since it entered the Islamic bond market in 2012.
Ten coal-fired power plant projects across the Western Balkans are facing serious financial problems, as they have not taken properly into account carbon costs, according to an analysis by environmental pressure group Bankwatch. The watchdog says none of the power plants has factored in the cost of carbon emissions allowances, which they have to pay under the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme.